Patra's Place will be mostly about my linen collection, but also about my SINS (Stuff I'll Never Stitch), UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and projects that I am currently working on. Since I created this first blog, I have diversified somewhat! You can see the list of my other blogs, and my favourite websites and blogs by other people, on the sidebar.

"It takes ages to finish a quilt you're not working on!"

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Fabrics, books, finished projects.

Ken and I were in Heidelberg today, as he had his first ICD unit check up at the Repat Hospital. We decided to have some lunch, then wander down Burgundy Street to look at the shops, as it is an excellent shopping strip. Ken was headed for JB Hi-Fi, but before we got there, I spotted a fabric shop called "Darn Cheap Fabrics" and had to have a look! I suggested to Ken that he keep going to JB, but he said he'd wait, and patiently followed me around the shop while I oohed and aahed over everything, and finally settled on a metre of this sooooo cute material!! I can't decide whether to use bits and pieces of it in various projects, or simply hem it and use it for a table cloth! What do you think?
I check the Eltham Library now and then to see if they have anything worth borrowing in the way of needlecraft books, but they don't usually have much of a range. Until yesterday, when I found this four, and grabbed them before anyone else saw them!
Not only have I borrowed books, I've also been buying them. Looking at Amazon.com is always an expensive mistake....well, not a mistake, but you know what I mean. I couldn't resist ordering four books on patchwork, three of them on cats in particular, and they have started arriving this week.
This book is not an instructional one - more of a history of cats on quilts. Interesting write-ups and photos.
Will I ever make anything from these two? Gosh, I don't know but who cares? They are nice to look at and dream about what I could make!
I posted photos of these two items the other day, but now they are finished, so this is what the end result is. The Japanese Doll panel has a black border on the kit photo, but I thought that was a bit dark against the dark background fabric, so I chose red instead.
And here is my small quilt hung out on the clothes line over a blue sheet - sorry!
It was a very cheap project in all. As I said in the last post, the blocks were in the remnants bin at the Guild. So was the backing fabric (brushed cotton, nice and warm), as well as the red fabric I used for the sashing and border. In fact the only thing I paid for was the batting!
I do hope nobody clicks on this and looks closely...I did made a few mistakes as you would see by the puckered fabric in two places...I remarked to Ken while I was unpicking a seam, that I was on a very steep learning curve! I hate doing the binding on things, so I take the easy way out and put the right sides together, stitch them up on three sides, turn them right side out, and sew up the fourth side. Look, don't pick on me - this is my first and last quilt, so it is not going to be perfect!
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Just in case anyone is going to ask...I have been working on my UFOs between patchwork, and have actually finished one, but can't post a pic, because it is to be a surprise gift.

4 comments:

Looking good G - I now have five tumbling blocks but I am darned if I know what I am going to do with them... I saw a lovely Kaffe Fasset book at work where he uses tumbling blocks as a basis but the top diamond is individual striped small fans he was incorportated - bloody stunning - but mind bending!!!!!

That is such a cute fabric you got (was it "darn cheap?") I have no idea what I'd use it for, although probably something crazy quilted, LOL. And that fabric journal book - wow. I think that's the one that is so hard to come by stateside unless you want to pay an arm and a leg. Lucky girl!! Hugs, Cathy